The man in red

On a cold, windy night, Kennedy met Santa and Mrs. Claus for the first time.  She looks super impressed here!

This past week the three of us headed to the big city to do some Christmas shopping and the little lady had her first hotel experience.  We purchased Kennedy's first Christmas ornament - a tradition that we plan to do every year for her.  One of many traditions we will share together as a family. I love family traditions :)  I can't wait for Kennedy to be old enough to enjoy them!

An evening with G&G

Today K and I spent part of the day at my parents house helping to get ready for our early family Christmas by setting up and decorating the Christmas tree.  We are so fortunate to live close to my parents (3kms away) and see them on a regular basis.  K was a pretty happy girl, giving smiles and a few laughs with her grandma and grandpa.  I'm so glad she gets to see them as often as we do and that they get to spend so much time with their granddaughter.

Then tonight I was out for dinner celebrating my sister-in-law's birthday.  With my hubby working night shift, we enlisted the help of Grandma and Grandpa to babysit while I was away. 

I was on my second glass of wine, and had just pushed my plate away, looking forward to the leftovers that I would have in my fridge to eat tomorrow.  It was a great meal and I was enjoying chatting with the wonderful ladies.  Then my cell rang.  Although I couldn't hear it in the background, there was apparently some major crying going on at home.  Could I come home? 

I had carpooled with my sister, so I stole her keys and hit the road - trying to get home quickly to soothe the babe and give relief to the grandparents who I know felt bad for calling.  I pulled in the driveway, and flew in the house, only to be "shushed" by my mother.  The babe was in my dad's arms, fast asleep as he paced the floor singing Jingle Bells.

Hopefully they all make up the next time they see eachother.  I'm sure it won't be hard to forgive and forget about their little "disagreement". 

Skype Dates

Each day, I swear she is doing something new and it blows my mind how quickly the past seven and a half months have flown by.  Our new "fun" thing is to attempt to stand on our own.  With mommy or daddy sitting close by to catch the fall, we laugh and smile and laugh and smile.  It's like she knows that what she is doing is such a big deal! 

With the time flying by, it was also very exciting to have our first skype date last night with K's uncle who is currently living overseas.  Although it has only been 2 months since he has been gone, I'm sure he noticed last night all of the changes that have happened in her.  Our little lady did some babbling in front of the computer and was amazed that the computer was actually talking back, waving, and smiling at her.  We are so fortunate to have this great piece of technology to bring us closer together, even though we are miles apart. 

A night away....

We are gearing up for a big wedding this weekend that will take us 2 1/2 hours away from home.  I'm so excited to share this special day with my cousin and his beautiful bride-to-be and the rest of my amazing family.  My dad has a big family, so our get togethers are always lots of fun when everybody gets together.  Unfortunately, it doesn't happen often enough.  But what better excuse than a wedding.

As much as I am looking forward to it, I am also dreading the night.  This will be the first time I leave my baby girl for the night.  She will be almost 7 1/2 months by the time we go, and I am nervous.  I know that I shouldn't worry as we are leaving her in great hands.  Her grandma is coming and staying at our house to keep her in a familiar environment and so we don't have to pack up house and home to leave her for..... 24 hours.  Eek.  That seems like such a long time.

I worry that she will wake up in the night and wonder why I'm not there.  I worry that she will not take a bottle well.  I worry that she will cry all night long and that she and grandma won't get much sleep.  I worry that I will miss her like crazy and not enjoy myself at the wedding.  I worry that if she needs us, we will be so far away and it will take us too long to get back.  But mostly, I worry that she will be scared when I don't come back after a few hours... and she will think that I am not coming back.

I still have a few days to prepare.  Wish me luck.  Wish HER luck.  Wish us all luck!  I am sure things will be okay, and everyone will have a great night!

7 months

My little lady turned 7 months old on Halloween.  Our Tinkerbell enjoyed touring around to show off her outfit to the grandparents, and then got so tuckered out, she feel asleep in the car.  What a fun night!

Two days ago, we had another exciting event when another of my best friends welcomed a new baby boy into the world. Off we went yesterday, to the hospital to meet the little man with a head full of dark hair.  Another potential boyfriend for Kennedy - or perhaps just another bodyguard!  How exciting to be able to share mommy-hood with friends.  I look forward to the upcoming weeks and months when we are off on maternity leave together, and for the years ahead when our kids grow up together. 

All the firsts

I'm the type of person that likes to take a lot of pictures.  In one day, I can easily take a hundred or more pictures.  Often taking twenty or more pictures of the same pose, just to get the perfect shot.  My husband often teases me that if I don't take a picture of it, then it must not have happened.

I love to have pictures surrounding me in my home, I love posting pictures on facebook to share with friends and family who may also enjoy them, and I love going through them on my computer when I am reflecting on past events.  I like to think that I can take good pictures.  I enjoy playing with the camera, the angles, the subjects, creating different poses, and getting that perfect picture.  However this translates to thousands (and I mean thousands) or pictures saved on my computer.  I am absolutely terrified of losing them all or having my computer crash, so I try to get them backed up on something else.  This is an area that I really should be more organized in.  These pictures are so precious to me that I should take better care.  Suggestions of photo organization welcome!

Now that Kennedy is here, I don't even bother putting the camera away.  It must be handy for those unexpected moments that must be captured because they are just so darn cute.  This includes all of her firsts.  I take pictures of everything she does for the first time.  The first time she had a blow-out in her diaper, I took a picture cause daddy wasn't there, and it was something that I thought he must see. The first time she rolled over - I missed the actual shot, but ran and got the camera and have a photo of her laying on her back.  At least *I* know that she had just rolled over before I took the picture.  The first time at the cottage.  The first time eating food.  The first "craft" she made.....and the list goes on.  Here is a picture of her first time at the park - and her first time on the swing and slide. 

You're not okay

I have a little lady who likes to cuddle and snuggle with her mommy, and I love it.  I love when she is laying in my arms, or beside me in bed and she softly strokes my hand just to know that I'm still there.  I love when she finishes nursing and she looks up and me with her eyes half closed and her adorable milky grin.  I love when she bursts out in a giggle when I surprise her with a funny noise or doing a crazy dance.  I love when a smile spreads across her face when she sees her daddy for the first time when he comes into the room after being away at work for the day.  I love when she grabs her bare toes and sticks them in her mouth when I'm in the middle of changing her diaper.  I even love when she starts to whimper, even though I know that really and truly nothing is wrong - and as soon as I scoop her up, she starts to smile like she was playing a trick on me.

But then comes the time when she's in a full.out.cry.  And I don't love it.  I feel helpless. I feel sad. I feel guilty. I feel frustrated when I can't calm her instantly. I feel overwhelmed at times.  I feel a lot of not good feelings.  I instantly start doing "the bounce" or rocking her while shushing in her ear, or singing to her softly.  I try the soother, or try calming her by letting her suck my finger.  I just want the happy baby back and the crying to go away.  What I also find myself doing is saying "you're okay" as the tears are rolling down her cheek, and I am patting her bum, pacing the floor, and humming quietly. 

"You're okay"  is a phrase that I find myself saying and then wondering why the heck I say it.  If she was okay, then she wouldn't be crying.  Seems to be common sense, but for some reason it's something that I repeatedly say. I'm the type of person who preaches to my students that you must learn from your mistakes - but am I?  If Kennedy really understands all the things I say, I wonder what she is thinking when she is miserable and upset and her mom is telling her that she is okay.  Obviously something is wrong and mommy is taking too long to help fix it. She doesn't feel okay. So from now on, I'm going to try to do a lot less "you're okays" and more of all the other wonderful things that makes K happy.

First official date

Today marks Kennedy's "first official date" as she went out on the town this afternoon to see her first movie.  The little lady was lucky enough to be accompanied by not one, but two handsome little men.  And the over protective mothers tagged along as chaperone's.

We had a fun afternoon, driving to the next town to see the new release of the movie "Footloose".  It was a mommy and tot viewing where all the mom's got to take their babes and watch the matinee movie in a stress free environment.  No worries about having to keep the babe quiet.  We were able to rock the strollers, walk the babies around, feed them, change them, hold them, and play while watching a movie.  What fun! 

I can't wait until Kennedy goes on her next supervised date! 

A wet day

This afternoon turned out to be a wet and dreary day...  aka the perfect day to curl up on the couch, with a sleeping girl in my arms, catching up on some of my PVR'd shows.  I know that a day will come when I say to myself that I didn't sit down and enjoy cuddling with Kennedy enough, so I try to take the opportunities when I can.  Is it spoiling her, holding her like that?  Not in my opinion.  Not when she has an eye that keeps running, and two new teeth coming in.  Who am I kidding... I'd probably still hold her while she napped even if she wasn't teething.  A perfect chance to cuddle up on a quiet afternoon after a very busy long weekend. 


We were fortunate enough to spend Thanksgiving with friends and family and did a lot of visiting as well.  Our family went back to the home farm and had our last family pictures taken there.  So strange to be back there with all the changes that have happened since my parents moved off the farm.  I know that Kennedy will miss out on a lot of things that I got to do while growing up as a farm girl, but we will have to work at it to make sure she still has these experiences, only at a different place. 

We had our own little photo shoot by setting up the camera on the tripod, and taking a bazillion pictures, with the hopes that one would be a great shot with three young kids.  We ended up with lots of great pics and of course, I have to share a couple!

Is that what I think it is?

So this past weekend the three of us made a trip to "the big city" to go to IKEA.  Evan had never been before, so I was a little nervous if he'd love it or hate it.  I think it was a bit overwhelming, but I also know that I will be able to take him back.

While shopping, we chose not to take the big clunky stroller in as she had been in the car seat the whole drive there.  So instead we had her in the snugli for a bit, carried her for a bit, and also let her sit in the shopping cart for.the.first.time (ahhh, another milestone!).  After about 3 hours of shopping (yes, it was a long day at IKEA), I was playing around with K, and thought I saw a little slit in her gums.  Is that what I think it is? A tooth? I thought so, but daddy had a hard time seeing it.  She had been good as gold that day with no 'signs' of teething, but I was sure that I had seen something.  Sure enough, about two days later I could feel a little sharp point on her bottom gum.

And teething has begun!